


In The Wake of Notre Dame

by agaytoremembr



Series: sterling!verse [4]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Fluff, I have no idea, It's mostly hurt comfort, M/M, Sterling is sad, Why Did I Write This?, because that's what I excel at, says things about me, the notre dame burning filled me with inspiration which
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2020-01-15 03:59:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18490882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agaytoremembr/pseuds/agaytoremembr
Summary: “Nothin’ lasts forever, Di.” He gestured to the image of the burning cathedral as proof. “And I think we put off a lot of stuff we want to do by sayin’ someday. But pyramids crumble. Temples fall. Churches burn. Why not make ‘someday,’ now?”





	In The Wake of Notre Dame

**Author's Note:**

> Sterling speaks Creole French, he's originally from Louisiana, and in this 'verse, Diego learned to speak Spanish fluently when he was dating Eudora, as an attempt to connect with the heritage that Reginald stole from him by adopting him.

Sterling stared at the flickering images on his screen with hollow eyes, his throat burning. He wasn’t really French, just descended, and even his French was a bastardized version, but he _was_ Catholic, and the Notre Dame had been special to him and his mother in particular. They had made the trip to see it every year since Sterling was eleven, with the exception of the past few. They had been busy, reassuring themselves that it would always be there next year. Their past platitudes made Sterling’s heart ache, because it wouldn’t.

 

There was so much lost. An ancient building burned, and a thousand pieces of history crumbled with it.

 

Distantly, Sterling could hear the door opening, the sounds of Diego getting home as familiar as breathing, but he couldn't wrest his attention from the television.

 

Diego’s footsteps got louder and harder to ignore as he got closer, but Sterling resolutely stared forward. “Babe?” When Sterling didn’t react, Diego touched his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

 

Sterling didn’t answer for a long moment, before finally gesturing to the television where the Notre Dame was going up in flames.

 

Diego didn’t say anything, he just sat down and opened his arms. Sterling fell into them and gasped. Just the simple touch made everything both better and worse. Tears fell from his eyes, and he didn’t know if he was crying for the burning building, the lost history, or the tradition with his mother that was gone now. Maybe all three.

 

“We went to Paris, once,” Diego said finally, mindlessly stroking Sterling’s hair. “On a mission. I think all of us, even Luther, wanted to explore, to sightsee, once it was done, and we could have, you know? There was no time limit, no money restrictions. But Dad said no, and that was that.” He shrugged, his eyes glued to the television. “I got a glimpse of it, though, when we were leaving. The Notre Dame. Just one look, but it was enough. It was beautiful.”

 

Diego’s voice cracked, and Sterling eyed him speculatively as he watched the footage with clear longing in his eyes. Sterling suddenly remembered that Diego had never been anywhere but New York. He didn’t count for missions, because he knew that the Paris incident wasn’t a one-off. Reginald Hargreeves would never have allowed his children the simple pleasure of exploring somewhere new. He felt guilty at how openly he grieved the loss of an experience he’d had so many times; at least he had gotten to see it. Diego, on the other hand, never had, and now he never would.

 

Sterling frowned. “Diego?” His boyfriend grunted in reply, but didn’t turn his head away. “If you could go see anything in the world, to explore to your heart’s content, what would it be?”

 

That got his attention. Diego frowned, gazing down at Sterling curiously. “The Mayan temples, I guess,” he said slowly. “The Aztec ruins. Mexico in general.” His frown deepened. “ _Why_?”

 

“Let’s go,” Sterling said impulsively, sitting up and taking Diego’s hand in his.

 

“Go… _where_?” Diego’s brows rose and his forehead wrinkled the way it did when he was worried.

 

Sterling made a face. “Mexico! To wherever you want to see.” And even to Sterling, his voice sounded a little too manic. _Dammit_.

 

Diego frowned. “Are you okay?”

 

Sterling sighed, shoulders slumping. Of course his stupidly rational boyfriend wasn’t just going to go along with it. Therapy had beaten the emotionally irresponsible tendencies out of him. “Not really? Maybe? I don’t know.” He buried his face in his hands, taking a deep, shuddering breath. “I just… nothin’ lasts forever, Di.” He gestured to the image of the burning cathedral as proof. “And I think we put off a lot of stuff we want to do by sayin’ someday. But pyramids crumble. Temples fall. Churches burn.” His eyes shine with unshed tears, and he squeezed Diego’s hand. “Let’s go see what we can, _while_ we can. We’ve both got money sitting around, you make your own hours, and the station owes me a fuck ton of vacation hours…” he shrugged. “Why not make ‘someday,’ now?”

 

Diego hesitated, and Sterling grinned. “ _Allez, tu sais que tu veux*_.”

 

Diego groaned, burying his face in Sterling’s shirt. “You know I can’t say no to you when you speak French,” he grumbled, pinching Sterling’s hip. “ _Bien, pero solo si hacemos un viaje a Francia también**_. Show me the other things worth seeing.”

 

Sterling swallowed over the lump that grew in his throat, his emotions threatening to overwhelm him if he didn’t find a way to release them. “Promise,” he said hoarsely, pressing a kiss to Diego’s forehead and lacing their fingers together. He knotted his free hand in Diego’s now-shaggy hair, closing his eyes. “I love you,” he said thickly, breathing in the comforting scent his boyfriend’s shampoo.

 

Diego sighed, and Sterling felt soft lips pressing against his collar bone. “ _Te amo, mi novio idiota***_ ,” he mumbled, with such obvious affection that Sterling didn’t even roll his eyes at the insult. “We’ll start planning tomorrow. For now, just be here with me.”

 

Sterling honestly couldn’t think of anything he would rather do.

  


**Author's Note:**

> Comments give me life!
> 
> *"Come on, you know you want to."
> 
> **"Fine, but only if we make a trip to France, too."
> 
> ***"I love you, idiot boyfriend of mine."


End file.
